A Christmas Story The Musical

If you are a fan of the classic movie «A Christmas Story,» or like me, you have never watch it, I guarantee you, you’ll enjoy the musical. Just don’t blame me, if your toes kept tapping as you watch the talented tap-​dancing kids.
A Christmas Story: The Musical is a classic and a crowd pleasing play.
Yes, there was a kooky leg-​shaped lamp. Actually, plenty leg lamps were «performing» in a song number including one-​human-​leg and one-​lamp-​leg. Awesome performance.
Yes, there were dogs on the stage.
Yes, I will always wash those dirty mouths with soap (usually I offer them bleach).
Yes, there was nothing laugh-​out-​loud hilarious, but the triple-​dog-​dare…
Yes, I’m a fan of Red Ryder BB gun, hint hint hint. Don’t worry I’m old enough not to shoot my eye out.
NO, I will not even dream of wearing those ugly outrageous pink PJs.
Four Unilocal.
P.S: I saw A Christmas Story: The Musical at Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia on November 2015.

I saw this musical when it was on Broadway in 2012. It was an excellent adaptation, and I throughly enjoyed it. I really was upset it was moved off Broadway and to Madison square garden as I would have loved to have taken my husband. Hopefully it will be back in a Broadway theater in the future.

We had a great time at Madison Square Garden seeing a Christmas story. This has been a family of session of ours for decades, and it was great to see it acted out on stage! The kids are so talented… just a really fun, feel-​good experience.

This was a great choice for a family musical. Although the theater wasn’t on Broadway, this is a Broadway quality show in a modern theater in the world class venue of Madison Square Garden.
The show is closely based on the movie A Christmas Story. Many of the acts in the musical were word for word from the movie. The musical numbers are lively and have catchy tunes. The dancing was incredible (both the kids and the adults).
Dan Lauria, famous as the father from the tv show The Wonder Years, had the leading role as the narrator. An excellent choice for a family show during the holidays. We all loved it!

Two words: Christmas magic.
My boyfriend’s first Broadway show, and my first in a while. Just an absolute delight.
They managed to keep the storyline close enough while adding in song, dance and more humor. It was really mesmerizing. It was well cast, and appropriate for the whole family.

I had pretty low expectations for this show going in to it. A friend was involved in the production, so I went to support him. As I planned the trip, I bitterly remembered how much I hated the movie (the 1983 film was, in my humble opinion, a testament to all that is wrong with Christmas in America: consumerism run amuck, spousal dissatisfaction, family dysfunction, guns in the hands of children, and a healthy does of racism heaped on top — YUCK), and since it’s on Broadway, I should not that I especially don’t enjoy the insanity of Times Square at Christmas time (shudder).
I sat down in the historic (read: pretty, but tiny with smushy, unsupportive seats) Lunt Fontanne theater, and looked around at the crowd (not a single seat empty).
The lights dimmed and I grumbled to myself something about the degradation of American culture being celebrated by so many.
The first act was fine.
We get introduced to a family living in a cozy house set somewhere in Indiana, a father who is distant from his family, and who is insecure in his intelligence and modicum of success; a child who struggles with the usual challenges faced by a nine year old; a mother who is the the glue that holds the family together, and the light that makes them shine, and a bratty little brother who has food/​control issues. I continue to shudder watching children holding guns, and feel a little but like this story might have been sponsored by the junior NRA, but that’s neither here nor there.
In the second act however, a Christmas miracle happened.
The characters develop depth, the OUTSTANDING cast begins to blossom and show off their talents (of which they have many), and a warm feeling began to wash over me — a mother who is outstanding, using her ample intelligence to take care of her family, a teacher who is in desperate need of getting laid, a father who wishes that people would see him as something other than the average joe, and children who seek their parents affection in the guise of material objects.
Looking back, I realize that they the movie had a lot of subtext, but it never dug deeper than just the surface and so all of the richness that makes other Christmas stories a joy to watch was buried in comedy sans grains of wisdom to balance it. The movie should always have been a musical and could have used an editor to tell them to give a little more depth to the characters, and to ease up on the misogyny, stereotyping, and abuse of the second amendment.
The lyrics and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, were sensitive of the plight of mundanity that is the human condition, and gave some satirical insight to the challenges of being average. The songs reflect on familial relations, deep seated desires to be ‘something more’ and the challenges of father-​son relationships. On top of all that goodness, just when you were ready to shrug and move on, the dénouement grabs you back in a embraces you with what the holidays (in the secular sense), are all about.
Funny, sweet, and sassy with what will soon become considered an all-​star cast (not a bad singer, actor, or dancer in the group, and if you haven’t heard of them yet, you will!), it’s a little sappy BUT you are going to see a CHRISTMAS musical on BROADWAY… I mean seriously, if I didn’t want sappy I would have stayed in philly, gone to a bar and watched the news.

Obviously not as inclusive as the movie but hilarious none the less. Some great musical numbers and the kids are just adorable. If you love the movie you’ll love the show too.

The musical perfectly captures the spirit of the movie and is very faithful to the story. Because of that, it’s one of the best musicals I have seen in a long time. The show was perfectly cast and I was pleasantly surprised at how amazing all of the kids were! I wasn’t sure how they would create musical numbers for this show, but really loved «Ralphie to the Rescue», where Ralphie imagines all the help he could provide with the bb gun. Also really loved the number where the cast used the leg lamp as a prop. The tap solo by this tiny little boy was also one of the highlights of the show for me.
I know the story is all about Ralphie and his quest to get a bb gun for Christmas, but for me, it’s his dad who stole the show! The actor who played him had me constantly laughing with the way he portrayed the character, it really made the show for me.
Having seen this and Elf, I would say that this is the better musical of the two, so would recommend this one if you don’t have time/​money to see both. If you’re on a budget, try the box office on the day you want to go and see if rush tickets are available. I went on a Sunday afternoon on a whim and scored a $ 40 rush ticket in the front mezzazine just a few hours before showtime. The people next to me paid over $ 100 each so I felt like I got a great bargain! (If I had planned farther ahead, I would’ve picked up the rush ticket earlier in the day to make sure they didn’t sell out.)
If you are thinking about seeing it, go soon. It closes on ¹²⁄₃₀!

Being a lifelong fan of the 1983 movie from which this show was adapted, this was a «must see» for me. I had high expectations, and I was not at all disappointed. The performances from the entire ensemble were excellent.
The highlights of the show were the two near perfect musical numbers «Ralphie to the Rescue» and «You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out». They are inventive, playful, and showcase the talent of the cast beautifully. The leg lamp number, «It’s a Major Award!» was another one of my favorites.
It was also very well written and directed. They seemed to understand that fans of the movie would not want them to stray far from the original story, and in that respect, they were very successful. They chose to simply take the funniest moments from the movie, and elevate them, by giving each a musical number fit for a Broadway stage.
This is definitely worth seeing before it closes at the end of the month. I must warn though that I took off one star because I did not like the view of the stage from my
the mid mezzanine section. I was leaning forward throughout the show in order to see the very front of the stage. If I were to go again, I would certainly pay the few extra bucks for front mezzanine.

Better than the movie. Actually had real bloodhounds on stage as the Bumpasas dogs. The story was actually better and funnier than the movie. The only thing missing was the little orpan annie ring segment but they embelished a lot of other areas. Even a few catchy songs.too.

My husband and I recently went to see this show and give it two thumbs up. I purchsed the tickets for him because he loves the move so much. I am not a fan.
However, I was pleasantly surprised with the show. Yes, the plot is the same… but the life in the show and the theatrics are just amazing. The show is hysterical, it’s fun, it’s full of love and laugher.
I would see this show again, in a heartbeat. I recommend anyone who remotely likes Christmas or Broadway for that matter… to go and see this today!

Loved it! Didn’t know how they would handle the voice-​over, costuming, adding music, but they had many answers and surprises. The adult performers were very good, and the kids’ performances were amazing.

Best Musical I have ever seen. What an amazing show from start to finish. The actors, both children and men, were sensational. The humor, both for the young and old, was hilarious and the singing was first-​class. There were times when the whole theater was laughing very hard and had huge smiles on their faces.
As for the story, there was a great feeling of nostalgia of 1950’s Christmas and how excited children get for the holidays.
The attention to detail, humor, music, theater, and cast made this the best musical experience I have ever seen!

A very faithful adaptation of the beloved holiday movie. My mom got the whole family tickets to kick off the Christmas season because it is her favorite movie OF ALL TIME, as she will tell anyone who listens. It’s on repeat at my house all day Christmas Eve, so I think I’m qualified to say that it’s a faithful adaptation as I could probably recite the whole movie from memory. (One complaint, they omitted the line: «Randy lay there like a slug, it was his only defense» but they do include the confrontation with Farkus). Fans will also appreciate the entrance to the theater which features the leg lamp from the movie and a full size bunny suit that you can stick your head in and have a picture snapped. The theater opened at 1:10 for a 2pm matinée, with seating starting at 1:30, so we had plenty of time to souvenir shop and get some pictures.
As for the show itself, Ralphie’s daydream sequences work great as musical numbers and what they do with the leg lamp scene (it’s a Major Award!) was fantastic. The kid who plays Ralphie, and all the kids in the show, are phenomenal and I’m not usually a big fan of child actors. The Bumpus Hounds also make an appearance or two, much to my amusement. There’s a little tap dancer who does a number in a day dream sequence that just about brought the house down. The narrator (played by the dad from the Wonder Years) totally nails the tone of the movie, too.
The theater itself is the only thing that doesn’t get good marks from me. It’s a bit run-​down. The seats are small and cramped. They were fine for me as a relatively small woman but my 6’1 boyfriend and brother had their knees crammed into the seats in front of them and had nothing to do with their arms. Also, our view from halfway up the mezzanine was somewhat obstructed. We couldn’t see the very front of the stage without leaning forward and the drapes hanging in the front blocked some of the set for us. The seats are also angled in such a way that if you have someone tall in front of you, you just might be out of luck. It did seem more spacious in the orchestra so if you need extra space, I’d avoid the mezzanine.

A cute adaptation of the classic holiday movie. The acting was great, especially from the little kids. The scenery and props were great too. I saw it during previews, and while the theatre was 80% empty, it did not distract us from having a great time. The musical runs almost parallel to the movie. All the great scenes are on stage. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fun holiday show (I definitely prefer this over the Rockettes)! Make sure you find a coupon code to snag a great deal on the tickets.